When he stood back up, he crossed his arms. I wasn’t sure if the stance was supposed to be defensive, but all I got from it was a yummy view of his biceps and forearms. I marveled at how slinging drinks at a bar could give a man his Adonis-like physique.
“You’re leaving tonight?” he asked pointedly.
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“I’m a big girl.”
“Who’s in Nashville?”
How did he know I was going to Nashville? I hadn’t told Miss Shaw where I was going. Crap. He must have talked to Billy and Billy told him that’s where Wayne lived. Cash and I had never talked about the fact that James Comfort wasn’t my biological father. I just assumed he knew, though, because he was so close to Billy.
That must be why he was here. Billy sent him to stop me from going.
“Look, I know that Billy—”
“Billy?” A crease formed between his brows.
“Yeah, I know that he doesn’t want me to go see Wayne alone but like I said—”
“Who the fuck is Wayne?” Cash asked in a deadly calm tone.
I’d never heard him sound so intense, so fierce. It was kinda hot.
I could feel my face flush but hoped that he didn’t notice.
“Um.” I licked my lips. “Wayne Lemont.”
“Wayne Lemont?” he repeated as he stared down at me, his eyes searching mine. After several seconds he shook his head. “The guy that sold cars? Why are you going to see him?”
“To find out if he’s my father.”
“Your father?”
“Yeah, I figured that Billy told you he lives there and then when Miss Shaw told you I was going out of town you put two and two together.”
“Miss Shaw told me that you were going to Nashville. She said she saw you looking up directions. I thought you were going to see someone that you met online.”
“Online?” Cash wasn’t making any sense. “Who did I meet online?”
“I don’t know. A guy.”
“You thought I met a guy online and was going to see him?” I repeated, wanting to make sure that I’d heard him correctly.
“Wait. Your father? James Comfort is your father.”
As much as I wanted to follow up on the whole why-he-thought-I’d-met-someone-online line of questioning, I knew that he wasn’t going to let this go until I explained the situation.
“No. James Comfort isn’t my father. We found out months ago. I assumed Billy would’ve told you.”
“He didn’t.” Cash’s nostrils flared and his jaw clenched.
I’d never seen him upset or even frustrated before. He was always so easy going, like nothing bothered him. I wasn’t sure what he was mad about, but I kept explaining hoping that he would understand.
“After the funeral, James Comfort’s funeral, we found some letters that my mom wrote that made us question some things. So my brothers and I took DNA tests and we found out that they all share the same paternal DNA but I do not. At first, we thought that Jennings Abernathy was my—”
“Abernathy?!” he exclaimed.